Mechwarrior Online

Say, how'd you fancy crowdfunding a persistent sandbox space MMORPG? Drifting between the stars in a spaceship of your own, making ends meet however you jolly well please--space-trading, space-mining, space-manufacturing, space-murdering, and all that space-jazz. No, not Elite, nor Star Citizen. Another one. MechWarrior Online developers Piranha Games have launched their rocket-powered space-hat into the ring and announced Transverse, a sandbox space etc. The main…

Robots! They walk among us. Admittedly, they're not particularly inconspicuous about it, given that they are both GIANT and in possession of a decently hefty marketing budget that allows them to plaster websites with megaton banner ads and titanic, lavishly produced trailers. It's almost like they want us to know that they're stomping about, tracking rust and guts all over everything - even the new…

How many mechs is too many mechs? Sixteen? Twenty four? Six million? I suppose it depends what you're doing with them. Chances are, if you're looking for companions as you slide into a hot tub with a freshly blended pineapple daiquiri, even one mech is probably too much to handle. For all of their undoubted charms, giant bipedal war machines are not suitable for holiday…

Even though we live in the Future Year of 2013 and download all games directly to our spinal cords the second they hit pre-pre-pre-post-mid-alpha-gramophonic, we still insist on designating games as "released" or "un-released". I understand that up to a point - it paints expectations of relative bugginess, when developers should start charging money, etc - but could we maybe start using more, um, applicable…

MechWarrior Online BZZZZZTT --MAJOR UPDATE-- Juggada-guggada-beeeeeooooooooooo. I speak fluent Giant Robot. The freebie stompy robots game has just added another new batch of content, which includes yet another mech to charge about in, and a tutorial zone called Testing Grounds.

Mechwarrior Online has updated with a new mech, the 80-tonne Pretty Baby, which is detailed in a video which you can watch below. There's also a big update from the devs on what's going on with the game generally, including performance tweaks and a new map. Is anyone still playing MWO? I know I had a blast with it when I first signed up, but…

There's a downside to the official comeback of iconic stompy robo-suit game Mechwarrior, and that's the end of ongoing development for fancy-lookin' Crysis mod Mechwarrior: Living Legends. While initial word that this free multiplayer total conversion was facing its last stomp led the community to suspect legal action by the people behind the new official game, Mechwarrior Online, the claim now is that MLL development…

"What is it with mechs and holidays?" I constantly ask myself and/or say to begin my cliched standup routine. It's a question that evokes many nuanced and contentious viewpoints, but mainly, MechWarrior Online launched its last big update on "Mechsgiving," and now a brand new point-capturing Conquest mode is debuting right around Christmechs (which is sadly not what Piranha's calling it). That's enough for me…

I don't think it's possible to have any misgivings over an update officially titled "Mechsgiving." As for Portalmas, well, that one's a bit more up for debate, seeing as it's just a word I made up. But generosity's officially in the air, and both Piranha and Valve are doling out fairly significant updates to their breadwinners, MechWarrior Online and Portal 2. Unfortunately, neither involves gigantic…

What do MechWarrior Online and PlanetSide 2 have in common? Well, they both have robots, guns, cold levels that affect gameplay, free-to-play options, explosions, planets, sides, walking, death, life, founder's programs, other kinds of robots, rocks, trees, smoke, and battles that tickle fancies and funny bones. Also, war. Oh, and they're both in beta. I knew I was going somewhere with this. Anyway, videos!

Yes, as we'd been anticipating, Mechwarrior Online is now in open beta, which means it can be played for free, without restriction. I've been enjoying it a fair bit in the past couple of weeks, but then I am a sucker for both robots and multiplayer combat, so it could pretty much have been designed with me in mind. I would say that it hasn't…

Very few things on this Earth can stop a fully operational giant robot. One of those things is another giant robot impacting the first with equal and opposite force. This is known as Cyber-Newton's 23rd law, and he personally destroys all who dare oppose it. All the other things that can stop a giant robot, meanwhile, are crushing realities of game development. Case in point:…

Kickstarter isn't the only way to make insane amounts of money without even releasing a game. MechWarrior Online has been having a concerted "pre-order" campaign, and has announced it's made $5m in the process. The stampy robot fighting game is yet to enter open beta, but despite this it's accrued those extraordinary sales figures since July. And let's stress - this is for a free-to-play…

I like giant robots. I like them a whole, whole lot, actually. But let's be honest here: their titanic clashes are nothing without heaping helpings of human intrigue. They need us and our elaborate, hilariously political squabbles as much as we need their impossibly large arsenals and devil-may-care approach to dealing with skyscrapers. Back in the day, single-player was the perfect middle ground between those…

Piranha Games have announced the following: "Make a MECH-sized marking in your calendars for Tuesday, October 16th. In just one week, we will be opening up the InnerSphere to all MechWarriors and their friends." This signals the end of Mechwarrior Online's Founders program, where you could buy in for early for in-game currency and other bonuses, but since it's F2P I expect to see a…

The concept of a giant robot so giant that it makes all the other giant robots seem like adorable little rhinos appeals to me, I think, on a very fundamental, perhaps even instinctual level. As someone who is neither giant nor (to my knowledge) a robot, I somewhat fancy the idea of striking spine-tingling, fight-or-flight-invoking fear into someone with my mere presence. And MechWarrior Online's…

Believe it or not, colossal 50-ton steel monstrosities that have to be careful they don't accidentally crush poor, helpless rhinos aren't nature's most graceful creatures. They do not prance or saunter or gallivant or float from place to place as though held aloft by the wings of angels. They lumber. That is the thing that mechs do. As you might expect, this leads to a fair…

*Idly Googles: "Things that weigh one hundred tonnes."* *Reads: "The tonne is a measurement of mass, not weight."* *Sighs.* *Finds video of a 100-tonnes of explosives going off. Posts next to the video of the Atlas mech, below.*

"Why walk when you can run?" I always ask. And why run when you can sprint? Any why sprint when you can suit up, clamber into a "light" 35-ton mech and mock the laws of physics at speeds of up to 118 km/h? These are all, of course, common philosophical questions that have echoed throughout classrooms and lecture halls for centuries. But the last one -…

Hello, you. How have you prepared for the release of Mechwarrior Online? Anything? Nothing?! Well that's a shame. Other people have been a bit more proactive, including this guy, who has built himself an entire mech cockpit for the experience, complete with surround sound and triple 28" monitors. Video and impressive image below for you pop your eyes at.